North vs South in John Alleyne Classic

REMEMBER the good old days when the best footballers from the South came to town to challenge their Northern counterparts in  the Red Cross Classic. Those times are about to be relived but this time in the name of late Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation president John Alleyne. Alleyne, who championed the Southern sports and was president of the Southern Football Association for several years, died earlierr this year. But new San Fernando Mayor Ian Atherley remembers and will not let the John Alleyne legacy die. So, Mayor Atherley together one of Alleyne’s daughters, Andy Andrews acquired a trophy and summoned current TTFF boss Oliver Camps to a meeting and have decided to stage a North vs South John Alleyne Memorial Classic on November 23 at Alleyne’s old stomping ground, Skinner Park.

Mayor Atherley and Andrews met with Camps at the San Fernando Mayor’s office, City Hall, on Friday last, and readily agreed to the classic which will become an annual fixture on the TTFF schedule. Local football fans of “glory years” of the 1960s into the 1970s, will remember those spirited North vs South Red Cross Classics. The Northerners will especially remember that game at the Queen’s Park Savannah, in front the Grand Stand, when their team trailed 0-3 at half-time and looked a beaten lot. But somehow, skipper and ace goalkeeper Joey Gonzalves breathed new life into the North team, Len Leggard was shifted from inside right to left alongside the late Horace “Pepperwine” Lovelace, and Carlton “Squeakie” Hinds reverted to his normal inside right position alongside Carlton “Putty” Lewis with Vernon “Shay” Seymour at centre forward. And history will show North ran rings around the Southerners to score a dramatic 5-3 victory and take the coveted cup. Since then, the traditional North vs South Red Cross Classic slid from the local football schedule with the advent of the National Football League now the T&T Pro League. Gone too are the Gooden-Chisholm Cup match between the two teams and the other clashes between the various league, Southern Football League, SFA, Northern Football League, TAFA League, and East St George Football League.